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Southern united states culture
Southern united states culture
Northern california surf culture
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Boasting its diversity, the United States is home to several ethnic backgrounds, making it the “melting pot” it was known for. Among those many cultures, the United States has regions that have developed a culture of its own: conservatives who live in the South, religious folk residing in the country, surfers who live near the beaches, and what not. One destination in particular that seemingly projected appreciation towards many individuals is Belmont Shore of Long Beach, California. Located along the west coast, Belmont shore is a location that attracts those from the streets of Los Angeles to those of the harbors of Newport in Orange County. With the establishment of this historic setting, Belmont Shore continues to maintain a unique cultural …show more content…
Because Belmont Shore was built on the idea of businesses serving the needs of the community, its “culture and production are related, the advocacy of a different system of production is in some way a cultural directive, indicating not only a way of life but,” a representation of its own society. The people who live near Second Street appear to be high-middle class themselves. With the exception of the homeless, it is safe to make this assumption because of the lifestyle reflected upon Belmont Shore. Living near the ocean is extremely expensive due to luxury, and the conditions of the homes around the neighborhood appear to be well kept and renovated nicely to keep up with modern fashion. Knowing this, it would be costly to live near and in Belmont Shore; however, culture alike lifestyle, “must be finally interpreted in relation to its underlying system of production”. With the types of businesses that are run, the shops attract those among the age group of twenty years and up: working class. There are pubs and bars, there are diners and restaurants, but very little entertainment except for the company of friends. All of the factors ranging from how Belmont Shore makes money and to the individuals who need it are reflective in its distinctiveness as a territory known for recreation and urban seaside …show more content…
From its geographic location, socio-economic background, and cultural expressions, this little neighborhood expresses the “mellow” aspect of surf, shopping, and living in the shadow of American culture. The Christmas parades and other various events held annually, along with the many shops that describe commercial success perfectly encircles both history of Belmont Shore and very well represents what it takes to be an outstanding American
Mitchell Duneier excerpt from ‘When You Gotta Go’ in Sidewalk depicts an analysis of the New York sidewalk life. In this excerpt Duneier explores a socio cultural environment to portray those who are seen by the rest of society as unsuitable. He brings representation to the fact and aims to covey to the reader that there is a clear economic gap when comparing the lower and upper class of societal groups and aims to argue that there isn’t a place for these people in typical society. The group in which Duneier focuses on in this excerpt in the people working on Six Avenue in New York City and aims to deliver a comprehensive interpretation of the individuals who work on the street as well as focus on how these individuals have formed these informal social structures to help and support
Roll the windows down, turn the music up, and drive slowly. Now you're cruising. Cruising is the art of seeing and being seen, and in Tucson the center of this art is Speedway Boulevard. This six-lane street runs east to west through Tucson and is one of the busiest thoroughfares in the city. It hosts a mix of commercial and private buildings: small shops, offices, restaurants, grocery stores, apartment buildings and older homes, as well as the University of Arizona. Despite the apartments and occasional houses, Speedway is mostly a commercial street populated with strip malls and other businesses. Cruising is most visible along the more commercial, business-oriented East Speedway, which for the purposes of this essay is defined as the three mile stretch of road from Alvernon to Wilmot. Like most streets, Speedway was built for an entirely practical reason: to conduct automobile traffic from one place to another with a minimum of waiting. This utilitarian reason is inverted by cruising. The purpose of cruising, unlike driving, is not to arrive but to not arrive. Cruising is a social activity wherein the cars become tools for meeting other people as well as a means of getting from one place to another. The reputation of cruising, and of the nighttime Speedway, is not nearly so benign. As traffic slows and the music increases, the character of Speedway as a place - that is, a focus for human memory and experience - changes to reflect the activities and desires of the cruisers.
Proud (2014) describes Shoreditch, an area in east London as a metonym for unlucky pieces of real estate that have had the hipster formula applied to them. situates the term in space, going one further to describe hipsterfication as “Shoreditchification” However the term “hipster” has been mentioned in other geographical works such as that of David Ley and Tom Butler (1980; 1997), in the theories of “the new middle class” of gentrifiers. Hipsters have turned themselves into “self-gentrifying urban Bedouins”, “popping-off then popping-up” where ever is cheapest (Eror 2014). The perceived advantages and disadvantages that this new “creative class of the skilled, educated and hip”, bring are mixed in literature (Companella; Kotkin
During the 1920’s, Atlantic City was famous for gambling and drinking. People all over would visit for entertainment and to get rich. After world war two crime and corruption took over the streets causing the city to enter an economic decline. Also following the war, cars became more available which led to the decrease of time spent at the city, people no longer had to wait for a train, they can now visit for a little and leave whenever. Less people staying at the hotels for longer, took away more of the cities money. In 1972, “ The New Yorker” published an article called the The Search for Marvin Garden’s by John McPhee who was smart and talented monopoly player. In the article, McPhee persuades Americans to be weary of what trying to become rich in order to be happy can produce and instead search for happiness in
The laboring poor’s leisure activity was brief, casual, and non-commercial. Amusement was and had to be cheap. It mostly consisted of walks, visiting friends, and reading the penny press. The people of the Lower East Side entertained with sights of interest and penny pleasures such as organ grinders and buskers, acrobats performed tricks and vendors and soda dispensers competed for customers.
So I attempted to use this mentality whilst exploring the Highline, allowed the mindset to fill me with energy and then reflected on what I liked and didn’t like about the limitless attitude once I walked back towards Gansevoort Street. When I saw Kathryn Andrews’ “Sunbathers II” piece, I went inside the piece, and smiled while my cousin took a photo of me. I then continued to roamed through Chelsea while observing the people, billboards, paintings and the skyline, and was struck by the Sleepwalker sculpture. When Zadie Smith comes face-to-face with Corona’s “Find Your Beach” advertisement, she begins to analyze and find possible interpretations of the billboard sign. I then began to examine the Sleepwalker sculpture and discussed several potential inferences towards Manhattan the artwork might have with my cousin Michelle. I then got some stracciatella gelato, and Michelle got a coffee. With my recent purchases in hand, I was taken surprise by Andrews’ “Sunbathers I”. Michelle and I laughed
George Saunders, a writer with a particular inclination in modern America, carefully depicts the newly-emerged working class of America and its poor living condition in his literary works. By blending fact with fiction, Saunders intentionally chooses to expose the working class’s hardship, which greatly caused by poverty and illiteracy, through a satirical approach to criticize realistic contemporary situations. In his short story “Sea Oak,” the narrator Thomas who works at a strip club and his elder aunt Bernie who works at Drugtown for minimum are the only two contributors to their impoverished family. Thus, this family of six, including two babies, is only capable to afford a ragged house at Sea Oak,
During the late nineteenth century, America was undergoing a cultural change in society. An island with Amusement Parks and vast beaches was underway in development to change the face of America in ways no one could have imagined at the time. The island was referred to as Coney Island. Coney Island Amusement Parks was built in a span of 30 years that would provide the American people a place to relax and enjoy time together with their friends and family. As a whole, Coney Island at the turn of the century, offered the ways of the future in distinctive ways; through technological advances of the era. Around 1900, the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company created steam railways that connected Manhattan and Brooklyn, thus making Coney Island much more accessible to people living the city (Source 2). Coney Island was a symbol of America in the early twentieth century, where all of America’s values and traditions were defined and brought into one place. In a sense, Coney Island took Americans from the Victorian age, to a more modern and futuristic sense of what America could potentially become. Changing economic and social conditions helped to create the basis of new mass culture that was carried on into the new century (Source 1)
Amusing the Million: Coney Island at the Turn of the Century. By Kasson, John F. (New York: Hill & Wang, 2002. Acknowledgements, contents, tables and figures, introduction, notes, bibliography, index. $17.00 paperback)
The book asks two questions; first, why the changes that have taken place on the sidewalk over the past 40 years have occurred? Focusing on the concentration of poverty in some areas, people movement from one place to the other and how the people working/or living on Sixth Avenue come from such neighborhoods. Second, How the sidewalk life works today? By looking at the mainly poor black men, who work as book and magazine vendors, and/or live on the sidewalk of an upper-middle-class neighborhood. The book follows the lives of several men who work as book and magazine vendors in Greenwich Village during the 1990s, where mos...
Peering in from the eastern border of St. James Park, in the city of San José, you begin to get an essence of American life. From the upper echelons, to the lowly scum of society, St. James Park is known for its diversity. With the church at your back, you can observe the people pacing the station, glancing at their cell phones every other second as they wait for the train to arrive. An elderly man takes a leisurely stroll with the support of his cane. Kids playing soccer score between goal post marked by homeless bunker tree forts. Police reprimand a vagrant man for being naked while changing at his park bench. A used dirty tissue and old worn-in hooker boots lay carelessly on a picnic table inside the deserted playground area. The thugs make a quick score of some coke from their local street pharmacist. In the distance, bordering the western end of the park, are the steps leading to the Superior Court House: an everlasting symbol of justice and security presiding over American life. The frequenters of St. James Park are a part of a unique and complex subculture, in and of itself.
Throughout the novel, East Egg demonstrates time after time the shallow underbelly of New York’s upper side. The inhabitants of this section of the city are what are known as the “old money”, meaning they come from families with money passed down through generation upon generation. Nick Carraway demonstrates unto the reader the grandeur of the area when he says, “Across the courtesy bay the white palaces of fashionable East Egg glittered along the water…” (Fitzgerald 5) referring to the homes opposite the bay of his. The people who occupy these homes, such as Tom and Daisy Buchanan and Jordan Baker, have never had to work a single day in their lives to secure and maintain their lavish and luxurious lifestyles, and will never have to because of the money that their families have procured throughout the generations. People here are reckless, and tend to not want to take responsibility for their actions. Jordan demonstrates...
Upon initial research of the rich heritage of California the two minority groups that stood out as especially influential in historic California and today’s society are the Native Americans and Hispanic Americans. To better understand and identify with these minority groups we must identify the common themes within their day to day life. By researching each culture’s common family traditions, religious beliefs, arts & entertainment, and language one can gain a greater appreciation of many different kinds of people, and in turn have more effective relationships in a multicultural society.
Skid Row dates back to the mid 1880’s-1890’s when the railroads were built and where they ended. The large agricultural fields east of downtown soon gave way to more industrial uses, which then attracted a predominantly large male population that came on trains for employment from the railroads, or predominantly transient agricultural sectors. This atmosphere sprouted small hotels, transitional living spaces back then, that now ...
Brokaw, Andrea; Narvaez, Dawn; Gordon, Becky; Bailey, Susan; Waite, Allison; Lamoure, Robin. Victorian of Newport Beach. The Victorian, n.d. Web. 3 Feb 2014.